Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council failed to safeguard her child. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and the complaint is inseparable from matters that were, or could have been, considered in Court.

The complaint

1. Ms X reported criminal allegations against her child’s father to the Council. She says the Council failed to properly assess these allegations or take steps to safeguard her child.
2. Ms X also disagrees with the Council’s later recommendation about the child’s care and contact arrangements. She says this recommendation did not properly consider her concerns about the father.
3. Ms X says the Council’s actions caused her significant distress and she remains worried about her child’s safety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
7. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by Ms X.
9. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. Ms X complained the Council failed to properly assess criminal allegations she made against the father of her child. She asked the Council to reassess the allegations and her child’s circumstances.
11. The Council determined there was no was no risk of harm to the child at that time because the child did not have contact with the father. It told Miss X it had made enquiries which showed the police were still investigating the allegations. The Council said it would prepare a welfare report once it received directions from the Court, which would act as a reassessment of the circumstances. This would involve both parents, and the child, and make recommendations about contact and care arrangements.
12. Ms X is unhappy with the Council’s determination the allegations posed no risk of harm to her child. She is also unhappy the Council did not reassess the matter upon request.
13. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council on this point. Its view regarding the level of risk to the child is a matter of professional judgement and is supported by clear rationale. There was no contact between the child and the father at the time and the police were still investigating the allegations, so the Council’s determination there was no immediate risk was not unreasonable. It was also not unreasonable for the Council to consider the court-directed welfare report as the next step in reassessing the child’s circumstances.
14. The Council has since completed a report under Section 7 of the Children Act 1989, making recommendations about the contact and care arrangements for Ms X’s child. Ms X disagrees with the Council’s recommendations and says it fails to consider the serious allegations made against the father.
15. Decisions about contact and care arrangements are for the Courts to make. Section 7 reports are the property of the Court, and the Ombudsman has no power to consider their content. Ms X’s concerns about the Council’s recommendations are inseparable from those court proceedings. It is therefore not something we can investigate, as per the exclusion set out in paragraph 6. If Ms X disagrees with the current contact arrangements, it remains open to her to challenge those arrangements in Court.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council assessed the allegations she made, and because her complaint is inseparable from matters considered in Court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman